Leaders of rural schools join to meet unique needs, state regulations
In small rural school districts, superintendents at times have to do it all — drive backhoes and buses, remove snow and repair water lines, even herd cattle off school grounds.
In fact, the concerns of rural school districts are so complex the Colorado Department of Education has created a state Rural Education Council to advocate for their needs and help deal with the myriad new state education requirements.
It’s no small problem: 142 districts out of 178 in the state are classified as rural and they educate 20 percent of the state’s 843,316 students.
The 17 newly-appointed council members recently met for the first time to find ways to ease the rural districts’ burdens.
“It’s long been needed. Nothing exactly like this has been done in the past,” said Terry Ebert, superintendent of Ellicott D-22, who was appointed to the council to represent the Pikes Peak region.
In addition to Ellicott, Ebert will represent Calhan RJ1, Edison 54Jt, Hanover D28, Miami-Yoder District JT60, Peyton D-23 JT, Elbert D-200, Woodland Park RE2, and Cripple Creek-Victor RE1.
The council is a result of a CDE study released this year called “A Rural Needs Study: Improving CDE Services in Rural School Districts” by researchers Phil Fox and David Van Sant.
The researchers note that rural districts have comparatively small student populations and teacher ranks, and smaller per-pupil operating revenue, but face severe economic constraints, significant population shifts and increased compliance requirements.
Colorado’s school districts are facing at least three major reforms, Ebert explains: new accreditation and growth models of student assessments; the educator effectiveness reform that assesses teachers and principals; and the “Cap4K” reform that will align preschool to post-secondary education/workforce readiness.
“It is very involved and complex and intimidating for rural districts,” said Ebert.
Some small rural districts have only one administrator who must lead the district and incorporate all new rules and changes. A group of administrators at larger districts can share those tasks.
The Rural Council’s job, according to the study recommendations, will be to find ways “to provide resources, information and assistance related to reviewing legislation, partnerships, brokerage of services and communication.”
Colorado’s rural districts are still trying to implement initiatives from several years ago, the study notes. Many of the reforms are mandated by the federal government, which rural officials say understands their problems even less than state officials.
Ebert notes that many legislators represent Front Range districts, particularly Denver and the Metro area. “They focus on what they know, the urban kids. But you can’t forget the rural kids,” he said.
Jhon Penn, CDE’s executive director of field services and special adviser on rural needs, says rural districts are suffering “initiative fatigue.”
“If you keep piling on initiatives it becomes difficult to implement. So we are going to focus on the reforms most likely to impact student achievement,” Penn said.
